Almost a third of commercial fish stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels; this is triple the level of 1974, the latest edition of the UN agency's “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture” (SOFIA) says. In the same period, world per capita fish supply reached a new record high of 20 kg in 2014 which is double the level of the 1960s. This is put down to vigorous growth in aquaculture, which now provides half of all fish for human consumption, and to a slight improvement in the state of certain fish stocks due to improved fisheries management.
"Life below water, which the Sustainable Development Agenda commits us to conserve, is a major ally in our effort to meet a host of challenges, from food security to climate change," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said presenting the report in Rome, Italy, early in July. "This report shows that capture fisheries can be managed sustainably, while also pointing to the enormous and growing potential of aquaculture to boost human nutrition and support livelihoods with productive jobs," da Silva maintained.
Some key findings of the report:
(FAO/sri)
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